Mob boss Daniel Kinahan owes boxing promotor over $9.7m in damages, top US judge rules

After a four-year legal battle, a top judge in the United States District Court of California has ruled in favour of boxing promoter Moses Heredia, finding that Kinahan owes him over $9.7m in damages

By: irishmirror.ie

Sep 29 2024
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Mob boss Daniel Kinahan owes b

Mob boss Daniel Kinahan must pay over $9.7 million (€8.7 million) in damages to a boxing promoter, a top US judge has finally ruled

After a four-year legal battle, American boxing promoter Moses Heredia, represented by top lawyer Eric Montalvo, has won his case against Kinahan and former boxing company MTK Global in a landmark case before the District Court of California.

Heredia had alleged that Kinahan and MTK poached his boxer Jo Jo Diaz and made allegations to the court that the mobster used drug money to do so. In July, a magistrates judge recommended to District Court Judge John W Holcomb that Heredia be paid over $9 million in damages - after Kinahan and MTK failed to launch any defence - and a default judgement was ordered.

Now, Holcomb has finally brought the case to an end, ruling that Kinahan, MTK Global and Paul D Gibson - the former chief strategy officer of the company - must pay the hefty sum of $9,731,248.61 to Mr Heredia.

“Plaintiff Moses Heredia shall have judgement in his favour and against defendant’s MTK Global Sports Management LLC, Paul D Gibson, Daniel Kinahan and MTK Global USA LLC, jointly and severally, in the total amount of $9,517,500 in treble damages, $193,350 in attorneys fees, and $19,798.61 in costs,” Judge Holcomb wrote in his judgement.

The order means that Heredia’s lawyer Eric Montalvo can begin to formally target the assets of Kinahan - who was heavily sanctioned by the US government in April 2022.

Mr Montalvo hopes to acquire already seized assets from Kinahan in order to recover the over $9.7 million in damages for his client. In previous interviews with this paper, Mr Montalvo said Heredia intends to give some of the proceeds away to innocent Irish families who were victims of the ruthless Kinahan cartel

As the Irish Mirror reported, Mr Montalvo even jetted into Ireland and met some of those families - including the father of slain Kinahan cartel victim Michael Barr. Republican Barr was shot and killed in the Sunset House pub in Dublin’s inner city by the Kinahan cartel - after he was wrongly accused of being one of the shooters in the Regency Hotel murder of David Byrne.

The Kinahans were also responsible for the horrific murders of innocent Dublin City Council worker Trevor O’Neill, homeless man Martin O’Rourke, and dad-of-two Noel ‘Duck Egg’ Kirwan.

Speaking to the Irish Mirror recently, Mr Montalvo said his clients were victims of a crime - because Kinahan had used cartel drug money to fund a business which ultimately poached their fighter.

“I’m confident because the United States government has made a determination that money laundering has occurred and some assets have been seized. So, we are effectively victims of crime. Therefore I feel very optimistic that we will achieve a settlement that addresses the harm.”

The US are willing to pay $5m a piece for the three Kinahan leaders

In April 2022, the US government imposed crippling sanctions on Kinahan and offered a $15 million reward for information that could lead to his prosecution. As a result of those sanctions, US assets considered to be connected to Kinahan were seized - and Mr Montalvo believes they can be used to pay his client.

“The assets appear to be available, so, yes, I feel there is a high degree of certainty we will be able to, if we obtain a judgement amount, that we will be able to collect on that judgement amount. For the purposes of civil litigation I don’t actually need to physically get to [Daniel Kinahan], I just need to get to the amount of money.”

The US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is leading a massive transnational investigation into Kinahan, who is still believed to be holed up in Dubai.

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